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Florida

The singular seven

Florida

TEXT THILO MISCHKE

Florida is the quirkiest U.S. state – according to our reporter, that is. Some fun examples of what to see and do

1. A mermaid for a day
Weeki Wachee, opened in 1947 by mermaid fans, is a town and a water park in one. You can still explore the lovingly decorated aquariums with a mermaid tail attached. Even the mayor of the tiniest town in the USA (population: 12) used to earn a living playing Arielle.weekiwachee.com

2. Fabulous French cuisine
Florida, in particular Miami, is a great place to eat, even if you easily get the impression that all people drink is alcohol – out of ridiculously large glasses. The A la Folie distinguishes itself from all the other excellent culinary addresses as one of the best French restaurants outside of France. It is even operated by a French team, whose wonderfully bad-humored staff serve tasty goat’s cheese salad and one of the best breakfasts this side of the Eiffel Tower.alafoliecafe.com

3. A Disney world apart
What exactly is pop culture? Everything that’s modern? Everything that young people appreciate but older ones find ridiculous? Pop culture is primarily about having fun – and that’s the motto at Disney’s Pop Century Resort near Orlando, which features pop icons from four centuries in­clud­ing enormous Roger Rabbits, oversized Rubik’s Cubes and larger-than-life Foosball players. Awfully ridiculous, but fun.disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/pop-century-resort

4. A sprayers’ playground
In 1963, the Marine Stadium was built on Virginia Key in Miami, overlooking the ocean. More than 6500 people watched speedboat racing antics here. It is the only stadium in the USA built for that purpose. But in 1992, when Hurricane Andrew raged through south Florida, the giant building was deemed unsafe and subsequently closed. Crumbling and empty, it has since become a sprayers’ playground and a monument to Miami of the early 1960s. marinestadium.org

5. A temple to space travel
The world’s fourth-largest building – 160 meters high, 218 meters long and 158 meters wide – is not a shopping mall, church or super-size hotel. It’s a workshop for assembling space ships at the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In fact, the Vehicle Assembly Building is so large that it even has its own weather conditions: Ventilators disperse the clouds that gather beneath the roof.nasa.gov/content/vehicle-assembly-building-at-kennedy-space-center

6. Jurassic Park up close
Dinosaur World was really created to tell the story of dinosaurs, but in between the absurdly inaccurate models you discover something much better: the story of our planet. The humid Florida air gives the park a primeval feel, and the giant plastic lizards blend perfectly into the swampscape.dinosaurworld.com/florida

7. A metal fantasy
Some people dream of owning a Ferrari, others, an island, but artist Howard Solomon wanted a castle – built of aluminum, which he obtained from a printing company, and erected in the middle of the Florida swamps. The bizarre construction still gleams between the trees. The tour is well worth it, given with wit and esprit by Solomon himself in a captain’s cap.solomonscastle.org

Getting there from Germany
Lufthansa flies daily to Miami (MIA) from Frankfurt (FRA) and up to six times weekly to Miami (MIA) from Munich (MUC). There are also flights from Frankfurt (FRA) to Tampa (TPA) as often as four times weekly and flights from Frankfurt (FRA) to Orlando (MCO) up to seven times a week. Regional airlines will often take you to your final destination. Visit meilenrechner.de to determine how many miles you can earn.LH.com